A medical headlamp assembly is a critical part of the surgeon's suite of tools, as it is of great importance that a surgeon can clearly see the operating theater. The ideal headlamp would be light and comfortable to wear for at least four hours and would have battery power sufficient to last four hours off one charge. Further the ideal headlamp assembly would create a bright beam of light homogenous and uniform in brightness and color edge to edge directly along the surgeon's line of sight, without obscuring his or her line of sight. Also, it would be entirely silent, easily adjustable in position and would not be susceptible to infection by mold or any other sort of organism.
For prior art medical headlamp assemblies in which the batteries are mounted on the headband, there has been an issue with comfort in the region where the batteries have been mounted, typically directly over the ears or suspended at the back of the head. The batteries have been separated from the headband itself by circuitry or layers of plastic and fasteners.
Because this causes the batteries to protrude farther from the headband, a more rigid polymer has been used in this region to prevent the pull of gravity from causing the batteries to flex the headband around its longitudinal axis, and also to provide a more rigid structure to support the area where the battery is seated. This more rigid polymer potentially causes some discomfort for a lengthy surgery wear-time.
In addition prior art headbands having a housing created from separate elements that were fastened together in the manufacturing process suffered from the presence of seams that served as a difficult-to-clean area where fungal growth could gain a foothold. These seams could also serve as a place where cleaning agents used in an effort to prevent fungal growth and generally prevent contamination could work their way into the interior cavities of the headband, potentially damaging electrical components.